The Place of Healing

As a counselor I work with people who have been deeply wounded emotionally and spiritually. As I sit with them in their pain and relive some of their traumas I pray for the Lord's healing in their lives. Listening, being there with a hurting person is an important ministry. Assuring them of God's love and sufficiency is one thing. Having a person actually reach out and grasp with both hands God's provision is the result of the working of the Holy Spirit

A number of years ago I was working with several women who had been abused in childhood and who had not only scars but emotional wounds that were still open. How much I longed to see each of them gain a measure of wholeness. I prayed with them in each session that we had together and in my devotions I pleaded with God to give me the key to their healing.

My answer came at a concert. It was Christmas time and I went to hear Handel's Messiah at the Academy of Music. I went to the concert to relax, to bask in the beauty of the music and to be blessed by the texts from Scripture. I was hardly expecting an epiphany.

It came in the chorus, "SURELY, SURELY, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." If you miss it the first time, they repeat it, "Surely, Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. And with his stripes we are healed."

Of course. When Jesus died on the cross he bore all the sins we have or will ever sin and all the sins against us. His redemption is complete!

All real healing takes place at the cross. Jesus has already done all that needed to be done to provide healing for wounded people! As we take our sorrows and griefs to him, he gives us wholeness in exchange.

God rarely zaps us and takes away all our pain at one time. He wants to make us into mature disciples, not spoiled children. We can handle only so much pain or painful memories at a time, but God meets us at every level of painful memories. He strips off that layer, like the skin of an onion. And he brings healing to that layer of pain and trauma as we bring it to the cross.

One day we will be perfectly healed and there will be no more painful layers to peel off. It's hard to imagine what it will be like to be made perfect, to be without pain or brokenness. But we will never forget the source of our healing, because we will be with our nail scarred Savior thorughout eternity.